Liquid treating apparatus for a cotton belt



A ril 16, 1968 YOSHIKAZU SANDO ET AL 3,377,825

LIQUID TREATING APPARATUS FOR A COTTON BELT 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 14, 1965 INVENTORS P 1968 YOSHIKAZU SANDO E AL 3,377,825

LIQUID TREATING APPARATUS FOR A COTTON BELT Filed Oct. 14, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 PEG. 2.

FIG. 3.

QM 47f W I INVENTOR WW 5/ M/ M A ril 16, 1968 YOSHIKAZU SANDO ET AL.

'LIQUID TREATING APPARATUS FOR A COTTON BELT Filed Oct. 14, 1965 FIG. 4.

3 Sheets-Sheet .21

INVENTORS BY Alum ,14% #1 14 United States Patent 3,377,825 LIQUID TREATING APPARATUS FOR A COTTON BELT Yoshikazu Sando, 84 Sekido, and Kuniharu Nasu, 132 Minato, Wakayarna-shi, Wakayama-ken, and Kenzo Iwamoto, 1172 Korimoto-cho, Kagoshima-chi, Kagoshima-ken, Japan.

Filed Oct. 14, 1965, Ser. No. 495,936 6 Claims. (Cl. 68-177) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An apparatus for accumulating a web of material and shifting the accumulated web, comprising a tank, a concave guide plate in the lower portion of said tank, an endless belt in the bottom of the tank having a portion thereof running along the concave surface of said guide plate and including belt drive means, a drum rotatably mounted in said tank above said guide plate and spaced from said guide plate with the surface of the drum concentric with the concave surface of said guide plate, support means movable along the curved space between said guide plate and said drum, drive means for driving said support means, feed means for feeding a web of material into said curved space between said guide plate and said drum, and means for heaping said web of material onto said support means mounted between said feed means and the entrance to said space.

This invention relates to an apparatus for continuous manufacture of absorbent cotton wherein crude absorbent cotton is subjected to scouring and bleaching in a very short time without boiling thereof.

Up to now, the absorbent cotton has been made by a non-continuous manufacturing method, in which a cotton belt obtained from a carder is cut into certain lengths and coiled and then put into a pressure vessel where the cotton is subjected to a boiling, followed by washing, oxidation bleaching, salt-removing, washing and drying. However, this conventional method has various disadvantages as follows.

Excessive chemicals are required since the raw material is immersed in the hot treating liquid and the recovery of the chemicals is almost impossible. And as a strong oxidizing agent is used in the bleaching, the cotton fibres are damaged, thus lowering the quality and yield of the product. Further much manual labour is required.

Therefore, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatus for manufacturing high quality absorbent cotton in continuous manner which can overcome the above disadvantages.

According to the present invention, a cot-ton belt, made by mixing and blowing as well as carding of raw material of absorbent cotton by means of a scrutcher, card and the like, is dipped for a short time in an alkaline solution while it is being moved, and after it has been taken out of said solution and subjected to a scouring process at a suitable continuous temperature, rinsing and the like, it is dipped for a short time in an acidic solution of sodium chlorous acid. Then it is taken out of the acidic solution and subjected to a bleaching process at a suitable continuous temperature rinsing and the like, and further as the occasion demands, to treatment in a dryer, filling machine and the like, whereby the absorbent cotton is continuously manufactured. The apparatus for this method comprises a tank, a concave guide plate in the lower portion of said tank, an endless belt in the bottom of the tank having a portion thereof running along the concave surface of said guide plate and including belt drive means, a drum rotatably mounted in said tank above said guide plate and spaced from said guide plate with the surface of the drum concentric with the concave surface of said guide plate, support means movable along the curved space between said guide plate and said drum, drive means for driving said support means, feed means for feeding a web of material into said curved space between said guide plate and said drum, and means for heaping said web of material onto said support means mounted between said feed means and the entrance to said space.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of the invention reference may be had to the following detailed description which may be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an embodiment of the present invention, in which;

FIGS. 1a and lb are side elevation views which together constitute the whole apparatus, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of rocking type heaping device, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are respectively a side view and a plan view of an auxiliary heaping device; and FIG. 5 is an end elevation view of said device.

In FIGS. la and 1b, A, A and A" indicate liquid treating tanks each of which has a liquid tank 1 in each of which several pairs of upper and lower reducing rolls 2 and 3 are arranged at suitable intervals, each upper roll 2 being opposed to a lower roll 3. A pair of opposed rolls 4 and 5 are positioned above the level of the liquid in the tank. Auxiliary rolls 6 are arranged in suitable numbers around and under the liquid tank 1 or on the peripheral side portion. On the rolls 2 and some of the auxiliary rolls 6 as well as on rolls 5 and the other auxiliary rolls 6 are soft, elastic endless conveyors 7 and 8 of a mesh material, and these conveyors 7 and 8 are pressed against each other by the rolls 2 and 3. An apparatus B for actuating and shifting a web is provided and has a casing 9, a rotary drum 10, and an endless conveyor 11 running on a path defined by a concave receiver 12 and extending over a driving wheel 13 and return rollers under said drum, said conveyor moving with the same angular velocity as that of the rotary drum 10. 'A concave accumulation space 14 is defined between the drum 10 and the conveyor 11. An entrance passage 15 is provided shaped as a cylinder and in which a conveyor 16 is arranged. Steam heating pipes 17 arranged in the passage 15 over conveyor 16 which jet steam against the conveyor 16. An auxiliary roll 18 for the conveyor 16 is provided outside said entrance passage.

A rocking type heaping device is positioned over an opening at one side of the space 14, and b is an auxiliary heaping device the details of the construction and function of which will be explained later in connection with FIGS. 3-5. FIG. 1a shows the elements constituting the first part in the order A, B, A, A", while FIG.-1b shows the elements in the order B, A, A.

As shown in FIG. 2, the rocking type heaping device :1 comprises two oscillating plates 21 and 22, two rocking levers 23 and 24, all of which are pivoted around two shafts 19 and 20 respectively, and a small connecting rod 25 connects said levers 23 and 24. A large connecting rod 26 connects lever 23 and a cam lever 28, which in turn is moved by a cam plate 27 on a cam shaft 29 driven by a chain sprocket wheel 30. Springs 31 keeps lever 28 against cam plate 27. The heaping device is so arranged that due to the constant rotation of the cam shaft 29, the shifting velocity of the edges of oscillating plates 21and 22 is slow at a position far from the rotary drum 10 and as they rotate to a position near to the drum 10, the velocity gradually increases. The shifting velocity of the edges of oscillating plates 21 and 22 is generally several times the velocity at which the cotton belt is introduced.

. The auxiliary heaping device b is shown in FIG. 3 in a side view, in FIG. 4 in plan and in FIG. 5 in elevation. It comprises a receiving plate 32 fixed on one end of two arms 34 and 35 loosely fitted on the shaft 33 of the rotary drum and which extend radially outwardly of the drum 10.

Ilhe receiving plate 32 has a width approximately equal to that of the drum and a length somewhat smaller than radial width of the accumulation space 14, so that it can shift smoothly within the accumulation space 14. On the other end of the arms 34 and 35 there is a balance weight 36, and a larger gear is mounted on one arm 34. An operating shaft 39 is mounted on the machine frame 38 outside of the casing 9 and is rotated by a handle 40. The receiving plate 32 will be rotated by said large gear 37 which engages with a small gear 41 on the other end of the operating shaft 39, so that by rotation of handle 40, plate 32 can be positioned at any position around the whole circumference of the drum 10 with the shaft 33 as the center of rotation. When the handle 40 is freed, said balance weight 36 causes the receiving plate 32 to be positioned so as to be in an upright overhead position. On this operating shaft 39 is a chain sprocket wheel 41a having a chain 42 therearound driven by another chain sprocket wheel 43, which is freely rotatably mounted on a shaft 44 for driving the endless conveyor 11. A clutch member 45 for coupling sprocket wheel 43 with the shaft is mounted on the shaft 44, and by sliding it longitudinally on the shaft, said member may be engaged with said sprocket wheel 43 and disengaged from the same. When the clutch member 45 is engaged with the sprocket wheel 43, the angular velocity of rotation of the receiving plate 32 is established by the size of gears 37 and 41 and the sprocket wheels 41 and 43 so that said angular velocity is equal to that of the endless conveyor 11.

The operation of the apparatus of the present invention will be explained with respect to the above described embodiment.

A cotton belt 46, which is made by mixing and blowing as well as carding of raw cotton, is lead into a liquid tank 1 in FIG. 1a containing scouring liquid and is passed through the liquid, while being pressed and reduced by means of the opposed rolls 2 and 3 the cotton belt being held between the soft, elastic, mesh material, endless conveyors 7 and 8 and is then passed between the rolls 4 and 5 above the liquid to be pressed and reduced. The cotton belt 46 is then conveyed by means of the conveyor 16 in the passage 15 and is subject to jet stream from the steam heating pipes 17 so that the temperature is raised to a necessary degree, and by means of the oscillating heaping device it is turned over and folded successively into heap in the concave accumulation space 14. At this time, as mentioned above, the shifting velocity of the edges of rocking plates 21 and 22 is generally several times the introducing velocity of the cotton belt 46 and is slow at a position far from the rotary drum 10 and as they draw near the drum 10, the velocity gradually increases, so that the cotton belt 46 is heaped so that while it forms a small corrugation every time the turning over is repeated, a sector-shaped arrangement is formed with the center of rotary drum 10 as its apex. Since the endless conveyor 11 and the rotary drum 10 are shifted with equal angular velocity, the heaps of the cotton belt 46 shift successively within the accumulation space 14 until they come to the other end opening, where the cotton belt is opened and placed on a conveyor 48 and lead out and passed through several successive liquid treating apparatuses A and A" and subjected to rinsing. In the last liquid treating apparatus A", a bleaching powder is provided. The cotton belt 46 passes through said last liquid treating apparatus and is treated by chemicals and subjected to pressing and reducing by the rolls 4 and 5. Then the belt 46 is passed into the next accumulating apparatus B FIG. 1b, and the above accumulating action is repeated and in the following liquid treating apparatus A rinsing and reducing are repeated and the belt 46 is lead to the conveyor 49. By adding a dryer, filling machine and the like to the above apparatus, the cotton belt 46 will be consistently and continuously refined so as to be made into absorbent cotton.

The action of the auxiliary heaping device b will be described in details. Before the entrance of the front end of cotton belt 46 for the first time into the accumulating and shifting apparatus B, the clutch 45 (FIG. 3 and FIG. 4) is disengaged, the handle 40 is turned, and the receiving plate 32 is placed at the inlet opening of the accumulation space 14, and the clutch 45 is engaged with the sprocket wheel 43. Then the cotton belt 46 is introduced so that the cotton belt 46 will beg-in to heap up on the receiving plate 32 by means of said oscillating heaping device a so as to form a small corrugated, sector-shaped heap. Thereafter, as the heaping proceeds, the receiving plate 32 will shift with an angular velocity equal to that of the endless conveyor 11, so that by controlling the inlet velocity of the cotton belt 46 and the shift velocity of the endless conveyor 11, the accumulation space 14 will be filled by turns from the inlet portion without changing the position of heap formation, while the receiving plate 32 will act as a bottom receiving plate for the heaped cotton belt and prevent the cotton belt from falling into the bottom of accumulation space 14. Further, when the heaping proceeds and the initial heap reaches the outlet opening, the engagement between the clutch 45 and the sprocket wheel 43 is released, the receiving plate 32 is shifted upward by means of the handle 40, the tip of cotton belt 46 is placed on the outlet conveyor 48 to be discharged. Thereafter, when the introduction and the discharge are effected, the position where the heap of cotton belt begins and the position where the heap thereof is released are kept constant by controlling the velocity of introducing and discharge of the cotton belt and the velocity of shift of the conveyor 11, and the auxiliary heap device is no longer necessary. At the last stage operation, when the supply of cotton belt 46 ceases at the inlet opening, the handle 40 is again operated and the receiving plate 32 is placed on the upper and rear part of the heaped cotton belt 46, the clutch 45 is engaged with the sprocket wheel 43, and the apparatus is continued to be operated. Then the receiving plate 32 will act as a rear receiving plate for the heaped cotton belt, and when the first half of the bottom part of the accumulation space 14 becomes empty, the remaining heaped cotton belt will not drop to the bottom part and the position where the heaped cotton belt 46 is released will be kept constant.

As mentioned above, the position of heaping is kept constant at the inlet opening, and together with the function of said oscillating heaping device a, the cotton belt is heaped in good order in a small corrugated sectorshaped heap. The discharge position is also constant until the end of the discharge, so that the present apparatus has the advantageous effect that the cotton belt may be introduced and discharged without being subject to any abnormal tension.

The characteristic and effect of the accumulating apparatus of this invention will be summarized as follows.

(a) Since the cotton belt is heated at the necessary temperature in a thin state, the heating is uniform.

(b) In the accumulation space, owing to the action of the rocking type heaping device and the auxiliary device as well as to the angular velocity motion of rotary drum and endless conveyor, the cotton belt is heaped in the accumulation space in good order from beginning to end and the heap is discharged in good order while no strong tension is imposed on the cotton belt, and during accumulation and shifting, any partial stress due to the friction and the like between the cotton belt and the structure of apparatus will not be imposed on the cotton belt.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for accumulating a web of material and shifting the accumulated web, comprising a tank, a concave guide plate in the lower portion of said tank, an endless belt in the bottom of the tank having a portion thereof running along the concave surface of said guide plate and including belt drive means, a drum rotatably mounted in said tank above said guide plate and spaced from said guide plate with the surface of the drum concentric with the concave surface of said guide plate, support means movable along the curved space between said guide plate and said drum, drive means for driving said support means, feed means for feeding a web of material into said curved space between said guide plate and said drum, and means for heaping said web of material onto said support means mounted between said feed means and the entrance to said space. a

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said heaping means comprise a pair of oscillating plates, one positioned on each side of the path of the Web and being pivotally mounted at the edges thereof remote from the entrance to said space, and driving means coupled to said plates for oscillating them transversely of the path of said web.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which said driving means comprise means for oscillating the plates more rapidly when the free edges thereof are closer to the drum than to the guide plate.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said support means comprises a support plate, arms rotatably mounted on the axis of rotation of said drum and on which said support plate is mounted, and said drive means for said support means is connected to said arms.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4 in which said drive means for said support means is coupled to 'said belt drive means so that said support moves at the same speed and in cooperation with said belt, and clutch means for disengaging said support drive means from the belt means.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4 in which said arms include counterweight means for holding said support plate up out of the space between the drum and the guide plate when it is not in use.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS IRVING BUNEVICH, Primary Examiner. 

